Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have agreed on a two-year trial period to work together at their foundation after their divorce.
Gatekeepers News reports that the trial period will enable the duo who ended their 27 years marriage two months ago, decide if they can work together as co-chairs or not.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday in a statement noted that if Melinda French Gates choose to leave the foundation, she “would receive personal resources from [Bill] Gates for her philanthropic work. These resources would be completely separate from the foundation’s endowment, which would not be affected.”
Since its launch in 2000, the foundation has served as a symbol of the couple’s efforts to spend money on education, health care and other areas. Most recently, the foundation has poured money into coronavirus vaccine development.
The foundation announced that the duo committed a fresh $15 billion to the organisation, which spent over $5 billion in 2019.
Gatekeepers News reports that the fund is the single largest donation from them since they contributed $20 billion in Microsoft stock in 2000, and it now raises the endowment to $65 billion, Mark Suzman, the foundation’s CEO, wrote in a note to employees.
They have also agreed to increase the number of trustees, according to the foundation said. Currently, they and Warren Buffett are the only trustees, and Buffett announced plans to resign as a trustee in June.
“I’m grateful to the foundation’s leadership team, employees, and partners for their dedication to making the world healthier and more just,” Bill Gates wrote in a tweet following the announcement.
